Disney Resort Christmas Decorations at Walt Disney World

Disney Resort Christmas Decorations at Walt Disney World

If you’re traveling to Walt Disney World during the holidays you’ll notice a few things, that may have you wondering when the “vacation” part of your vacation will start. That’s where a Disney Resort Holiday Decorations Tour comes in. This time of year has more crowds, more families, more fights, more everything. You will need to get away. We often take time to escape the parks for a meal, tea or just to get away from the crowds. If you’re looking for a fun way to add a little more relaxation to your vacation, try our Disney Resort Christmas Decorations for the holidays. 

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When Can You See Disney Resorts Christmas Decorations?

Christmas at Walt Disney World begins November 11th, 2023, and you can find Christmas Decorations at the Disney Resorts starting the week of Thanksgiving. Decorations typically include a large lobby Christmas Tree, holiday decorations, seasonal snacks, and merchandise. If you’re heading to Animal Kingdom Lodge you can also take part in Christmas Craft activities! 

Visiting the Walt Disney World Resorts During Christmas

One of our favorite ways to take a break from the parks is by visiting Disney Resorts to check out all the holiday decorations. Here are a few of the easiest ways to see Disney Resorts during the holidays. We’ll break this up by locations so you can decide which works for you throughout your trip. For more details check out our post on how to resort hop at Disney World.

How to Resort Hop for Disney Christmas Decorations

  1. Monorail Resorts – From Magic Kingdom
  2. Boardwalk Resorts – From EPCOT
  3. Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campgrounds– From Magic Kingdom
  4. Animal Kingdom Lodge– From Animal Kingdom
  5. Coronado Springs– From any Disney Park or Disney Springs

Grand Floridian Resort Christmas Tree

Disney Monorail Resorts Christmas Crawl

The easiest way to do the Monorail Resort Crawl if you’re not staying at one of these resorts is simply to head to Magic Kingdom. From the entrance, you can board the Resort  Monorail and simply stop at each stop along the way. You can explore the restaurants, gift shops, and all the lobbies will have decorations galore. 

Christmas at Disney's Contemporary Resort

Gingebread castle at the Contemporary Resort

Disney’s Contemporary Resort | Cinderella Christmas Gingerbread Castle

Disney’s Contemporary Resort has an annual tradition of setting up a themed gingerbread house right behind the Fantasia shop. Next to the display, you’ll find a sign with fun facts and how many hidden mickeys you can hunt for. Disney Pro Tip: The hidden mickeys on all the holiday decorations seem to be tiny gold mickey head stickers or just carved into the gingerbread. You’ll also find a small station where you can purchase little gingerbread snacks and other treats to hold you over until your next stop.

Christmas at the Polynesian Resort Disney World

The Polynesian Resort and Villas | Tree and Holiday Decorations

The Polynesian features an island-inspired Christmas tree near the gift shop on the first floor. As you can see this is not a two-story tree, but still quite beautiful, and matches the decor around the rest of the resort.

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort at Christmas

Grand Floridian Resort Gingerbread House

Grand Floridian Resort | Gingerbread House and Christmas Tree

The Grand Floridian Resort really embraces the holidays with a floor-to-ceiling tree and a life-sized gingerbread house that takes 2 months to put together. This is the cornerstone of the Disney Gingerbread Displays during the Holidays. You can typically plan to see the gingerbread house by the second week of November, the tree, however, doesn’t make its debut until Thanksgiving week along with the other resort decorations. The gingerbread house is home to a very small gingerbread shop which is inside the gingerbread house, staffed by two workers. Keep an eye out for the hidden mickeys and the smoke billowing out of the chimney. You can buy a gingerbread shingle here for 9 dollars, big enough for two to share. The tree is decorated with swans and birdcages and all things gold and pink. 

Boardwalk Inn Gingerbread display

Disney Boardwalk Resorts Christmas Crawl

If you’re not just looping back to Magic Kingdom for the day, you can head for the second part of our Disney Resort Holiday Decorations Resort Crawl. You can also just plan for this part of your crawl during the day you are at EPCOT. Once at Epcot, you can walk back to the International Gateway in the World Showcase. This brings you to the Disney Boardwalk. Here you will find The Boardwalk Inn and The Beach and Yacht Club. 

Disney Resorts at Christmas

The Boardwalk Inn Resort | Boardwalk Gingerbread Village

The Boardwalk Inn is attached to the Epcot World Showcase and features a mini gingerbread house village featuring the storefronts on the Boardwalk. Inside this display, you’ll see Mickey cooking up a storm. A small table with gingerbread snacks for sale sits right across from the display in the main section of the inn. If you’re looking for a lobby to lounge in and revel in the season, you can find that at Boardwalk Inn. 

Gingerbread Carousel at the Beach Club

The Beach Club Resort | Gingerbread Carousel Display

The Disney Boardwalk has a long tradition of Gingerbread decorations. Check out our post featuring 20 years of Disney Gingerbread tradition at The Beach Club. Next on the list, you can head here by just following the Boardwalk around the lake. Typically presenting a carousel each year, this O’hana-inspired carousel features Lilo and Stitch. You’ll notice the first hidden mickey is easy to find on the ingredients podium. The carousel is set right in the middle of the lobby area and is the first thing you see when you enter the resort.

Disney Resorts at Christmas

Disney Resorts at Christmas

The Yacht Club 

The Yacht Club on Disney’s Boardwalk showcases a large signature tree, covered in yachts, and sailing gear. with blue, white, and silver vibes for the season. Be sure to also catch a glimpse of the miniature train set all decorated for the holidays in this resort’s lobby! 

Disney Resorts at Christmas

Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resorts Christmas Crawl

To head to the wilderness for a little Christmas all you need is a boat ride from the Magic Kingdom Dock. You can also just head straight to Wilderness Lodge via bus if you would rather. However, during the holidays, we try to avoid the crazy bus situation at Disney World.

The Wilderness Lodge | Christmas Tree and Holiday Decorations

Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is absolutely gorgeous on any normal day, so add a 4 story tree to the lobby, and it quickly becomes our favorite place to be and an absolute must-see tree during the holidays. Disney Pro Tip: Plan for lunch at Roaring Fork or a meal at Whispering Canyon Cafe or Geyser Point Bar and Grill to make the visit a little more substantial. The tree is decorated with Native American ornaments, all things bear, moose, camping, and anything great outdoors.

Fort Wilderness Resort Christmas

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort at Christmas | Decorated Campsites and RV’s

A recent discovery, Fort Wilderness Campgrounds may soon become our favorite home away from home. During the holidays all the campers, RV’s, and Cabins get spruced for the season. You can walk the 21 loops or rent a golf cart and make a day of it. Grab dinner at Trails End, and then head out as it gets dark to see the lights all over this resort. Guests even bring blow-up decorations too. Be sure to check out the perks of Staying in an RV at Fort Wilderness if you want to get close to the action. 

Cabins at Fort Wilderness

Fort Wilderness Christmas Decorations

Animal Kingdom Lodge | Jambo House Christmas Tree

Definitely, one of our favorite resorts, Animal Kingdom Lodge dresses up for the holidays like nothing you’ve seen. There’s a large tree, decorated with handicrafts, and animal images. Able to be admired while making ornament crafts in the lounge and listening to seasonal music. If you venture down to Kidani Village you’ll see the smaller tree featured at the top of this post, and get the chance to hear carolers in the evenings in the lobby. This resort is such a great escape from the park crowds and seeing it decorated to the nines was a nice treat. Disney Pro Tip: If you venture to the 5th floor you can get access to the bridge and a better view of the tree. Check out the Gingerbread Display at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

disney without a park ticket

Coronado Springs Resort | Gran Destino Tower Christmas Tree

Our newest favorite resort at Walt Disney World is Coronado Springs’s new Gran Destino Tower. And Christmas at Coronado Springs is just gorgeous. Combining beautiful Spanish architectural details with an elegant Christmas Tree in the lobby and multiple trees all over the tower, you can really feel Christmas at this resort. Disney Pro Tip: When choosing your Coronado Springs room, choose a Gran Destino Tower. This gets you in close proximity to the Barcelona Lounge and Toledo Restaurant‘s rooftop dining! As one of Disney World’s largest resorts, you will want the convenience of having your dining options close! Be sure to check out our Christmas Tour of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort for all the holiday things to see and do. 

Coronado Springs Gran Destino Tower

Disney Resort Christmas Decorations for the Holiday

While these resorts are favorites for Disney Resorts Holiday Decorations, you can also catch decorations at every Disney resort. Whether you’re trying to pack in all the things or just have a fun-filled family Christmas at Disney, we recommend taking a tiny break to see some of the resorts we share here. The downtime will probably be much needed. Enjoy!

Co-Founder and Director at Polka Dot Pixie Co LLC | Website | + posts

Rochelle Mariah is a writer, designer and photographer with an MLIS in Information Science and a B.S. in Arch and Design. Determined to make Planning a DIY Disney Vacation easier she makes lots of lists and drinks lots of coffee. When not designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she's watching old movies and planning the holidays. She has been traveling to Disney destinations since 2010.


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